Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

Stack of frosted pumpkin cookie with a bite taken out of the top one.

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

Soft, puffy, and perfectly spiced, these Frosted Pumpkin Cookies are a fall must-make! The brown sugar frosting is made super quickly on the stove top and makes an absolutely incredible melt in your mouth cookie!

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 10

Frosting time: 15

Servings: 24

Calories: 256kcal

Ingredients

For the cookies:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
½ cup butter (softened (1 stick))
1 cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1 15 oz. can pumpkin purée
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:

½ cup salted butter (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup hot milk (2% or whole)
2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium high speed for 4-5 minutes, until lighter in color and fluffy.
Add the eggs, beating after each addition, then stir in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed until well combined, being sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl a few times.
Use a jumbo cookie scoop (about 2 Tablespoons of dough) to scoop 12 cookies onto each tray, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops are set. If you pat the top with a finger, it should spring back rather than leave an indent). Allow the cookies to cool a few minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

While the cookies bake, prepare the frosting. Melt butter in a sauce pot over medium heat.
Add brown sugar and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium low and maintain a gentle boil for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat, then cool for 15 minutes. At this point, the frosting will look thick and slightly grainy.
Whisk in the hot milk until smooth. The mixture should turn smooth and glossy.
Whisk in the sifted powdered sugar until the mixture is thick and spreadable. Use an offset spatula to spread frosting on the cooled cookies.

Notes

If you don't have salted butter for the frosting, just add a few pinches of salt at the end.
If you want to make smaller cookies, use a standard size cookie scoop and subtract 2 minutes from the baking time. This should make about 36 cookies.
The cookies keep well cooled completely then stored in an airtight container at room temperature. I put parchment paper in between the layers. After 5 days, the frosting will start to get soft and soak into the parchment, so I recommend eating or sharing before then!